Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level

2251 Sociology November 2015

Principal Examiner Report for Teachers

SOCIOLOGY
Paper 2251/12
Paper 12

Key Messages

● Candidates should take full advantage of the materials provided on the paper
● Candidates need to be better able to apply their knowledge to answering the questions
● Candidates need to understand question command words better so they understand where they are
required to present both argument and counter argument.

General Comments

Most candidates read the paper thoroughly and as a result there were few rubric errors. It was pleasing that
candidates did make use of source A to support their answers, however, many candidates still need to be
encouraged to take full advantage of the materials provided on the paper as these are carefully selected not
just to assess but to assist. Some candidates needed to read the whole paper in more depth. Too frequently
the materials provided were simply ignored.

Many candidates demonstrated good sociological knowledge, but due to weak technique were unable to
apply it to answering the questions. This often resulted in descriptive accounts, rather than answers which
addressed the question. For example, many gave accounts of sociological ethics without any attempt to link
them to research problems. Many candidates did not score well on 1g, 2e and 3e because they failed to
present a counter argument. Others knew that a counter argument was required and presented the
connective ‘however…’ but were unable to present the actual argument.

Comments on Specific Questions

Section A

Question 1

(a) This was generally well answered most candidates recognised that the method being used was an
interview. A minority mistakenly stated content analysis.

(b) Many candidates made good use of source A to respond to this question. Asylum seekers and
migrants were the most popular responses. Candidates also identified a variety of other topics few
had a problem identifying anything.

(c) Whilst many candidates were able to explain why media content might be biased many struggled to
explain this in the context of the source A. Some candidates understood they were required to use
source A in their response and copied out sections from source A but failed to explain why the
section they had copied was relevant to their answer.

(d) A minority of candidates struggled with the words ‘media content’ and wrote solely about media or
media technology.

(e) This was answered very well candidates often understood that for some research historical data
might be the only source of data available. Many candidates rightly recognised that media
materials are secondary data and therefore has the same strength and limitations as other forms of
secondary data. This was a perfectly valid approach to the question.

(f) Many candidates, due to the similar word stem, confused ethics with ethnic and produced answers
which were about ethnicity and entirely irrelevant to the question. Others were able to describe

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
their knowledge of ethical issues but were unable to link them to research problems. Candidates
frequently discussed ethics in the context of observation, linking covert observation to issues of
consent and overt to the Hawthorne effect. Some made links to having to abandon research
because those observed were involved in illegal activities. The best responses looked at a range of
research methods including experiments and interviews. They included a range of ethical issues
most frequently doing no harm. These issues were clearly linked to ways in which ethical concerns
might impact research outcomes. The impact on validity was quite widely discussed, as was the
ability to find primary data on some topics at all i.e. because of ethical concerns some research is
not acceptable.

(g) Candidates sometimes struggled with the term media content. They mistakenly spoke about using
media technology like video, in research e.g. to record interviews. Candidates understood that
media content was secondary data and this impacted on its validity, others drew on the details in
source A and discussed issues like exaggeration and stereotyping, some used their knowledge of
the media topic which was also a valid approach. Few candidates presented a counter argument,
but those who did rightly recognised that certain types of media content, such as live broadcasts,
could be very valid.

Question 2

(a) Lots of candidates appeared unfamiliar with this term or confused it with socialisation or social
control. This question was frequently misinterpreted. Candidates often did better where they
contextualised the term e.g. making links to culturally relative gender roles.

(b) This question was very well answered. On the whole candidates were able to identify two age
groups. Adults and teenagers were the two most popular groups. Most were able to describe these
life stages with greater accuracy. A minority confused age with agencies of socialisation or gave an
age range rather than age group. Some mistakenly talked about ‘motherhood’ or ‘parenthood’.
Surprisingly candidates who were struggling to identify a group were unable to take the clue from
Question 2(c) which made reference to ‘old age’.

(c) Many struggled to demonstrate that experiences differ between cultures, beyond saying the old
were not respected in some societies, but are respected in others. Answers often lacked range or
sociological language.

(d) Many candidates gave common sense responses that did not go beyond ‘children do not know
right from wron’. Many candidates gave simple answers relating to play or children being in need of
protection. Very few reached the top marks available. The very best referred to media
representation of children, modern industrial societies being more child centred and legal protection
available to children. Some recognised that childhood for some, was dominated by war and
hardship.

(e) Many candidates did not have a sound grasp of the concept of social construction and others failed
to present a counter argument offering one sided answers. A very high number of candidates
answered this question without referring to social construction and simply answered by writing
about childhood in general or socialisation in lots of detail and therefore failed to access the higher
bands. Very few candidates discussed the biological arguments related to childhood but lots
managed to draw comparison between children that were protected and those that have to work.

Question 3

(a) Whilst many candidates understood racism they could not articulate the institutional part which
places the term within the context of organisations, the state.

(b) Candidates sometimes ignored the “young people” in the question. Good answers tended to look at
education and relations with the police/law. A number of candidates did write of legal restrictions
designed to protect young people and hence got no credit.

(c) Many candidates confuse prejudice with discrimination and hence many answers looked at general
inequality via work, wages and education rather than specific examples of prejudice.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
(d) Most candidates’ responses to this question discussed examples of prejudice and discrimination
experienced by minority groups in general without focusing on the question. Better responses
demonstrated an understanding of scapegoating, citing possible reasons why it was of benefit,
along with appropriate reference to sociological theory. Particular good reference to Marxist theory
was made by some candidates who recognised the link to dominance of the bourgeoisie.

(e) There were some excellent responses to this question, some candidates’ responses demonstrated
a well-developed knowledge and understanding of the nature of racism. These responses were
generally supported with reference to a variety of issues, examples and global differences of
experiences. Some candidates’ responses, however, were one sided, generally arguing that racism
is inevitable without any consideration of the impact of anti-racism legislation or attempts at social
integration. A significant number of candidates discussed reasons for social inequality, generally
rather than focusing on racism.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers

SOCIOLOGY
Paper 2251/13
Paper 13

Key Messages

● Candidates showed excellent understanding of key terms

● Candidates need to be better able to apply their knowledge to answering the questions
● Candidates need to understand question command words better so they understand where they are
required to present both an argument and a counter argument.

General Comments

Most candidates understood the requirements of the paper, there were few rubric errors. It was pleasing that
candidates had good knowledge of the key terms from the syllabus and that many did make use of source A
to support their answers. Many candidates do, none the less, still need to be encouraged to take full
advantage of the materials provided on the paper as these are carefully selected not just to assess but to
assist. Some candidates needed to read the whole paper in more depth. Too frequently the materials
provided were simply ignored.

Many candidates demonstrated good sociological knowledge, but due to weak technique, were unable to
apply it to answering the questions. This often resulted in descriptive accounts rather than answers which
addressed the question. Many candidates did not score well on 1g, 2e and 3e because they failed to present
a counter argument. Others knew that a counter argument was required and presented the connective
‘however…’ but were unable to present the actual argument or only offered a brief limited counter argument.

Comments on Specific Questions

Section A

Question 1

(a) Most candidates were able to identify the method being used as ‘interview’, better answers
identified unstructured interview.

(b) The most common responses were ‘time consuming’ and ‘expensive’ although there were a range
of other possible responses, few consider them.

(c) There were many generic answers to this question, which did not consider the information in
source A. Better responses looked at the skill required to conduct the research and the opportunity
for the interviewee to respond openly.The phrased ‘adapted from’ caused confusion for some
candidates who seemed to think that this made the information more valid.

(d) Generally this was answered well, candidates identifyed the ease with which the responses could
be collated and turned into statistics making generalisation easy and trends apparent. Many gave
generic responses like ‘it is cheaper’, but this is not necessarily a valid response as cost would be
relative to the size of the research population.

(e) This was generally well answered, many identifying strengths like participants gaining confidence
from other members of the group and limitations such as one group member dominating the
discussion. Some candidates talked about interviews in general rather than group interviews and
therefore did not score well.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
(f) This was generally well answered, although a minority of candidates described qualitative methods
in general without explaining why positivists would not use them. A small minority confused
qualitative and quantitative methods.

(g) Most understood that there was some aspect of bias in most research. A lot talked about the
‘Hawthorne effect’ and the ‘interviewer effect’. These concepts were widely known and well
understood. Few candidates considered factors such as, why it is important to gain a rapport or
confidence of the subject. A lot of candidates struggled to provide a counter argument to this
question. Those who did, either took the view that it depended on the type of research being
carried out or the skills of the researcher, both approaches were equally valid.

Question 2

(a) This question was answered well most candidates understood the term.

(b) Candidates had little problems with this question. Most identify two types of youth culture.

(c) Many candidates did this well, they were able to talk about globalisation, the Internet, social media
and the influence of western music.

(d) Many candidates were able to describe youth cultures but they often struggled to explain why
young people might reject main stream norms and values, those who showed some understanding
mostly talked about rebellion and the need to belong to the peer group.

(e) Generally this was answered well, most candidates not only considered the role of the peer group
but also presented a counter argument that considered the media, often concluding that the media
was more important.

Question 3

(a) This term was well understood and well answered.

(b) Generally well answered. Class, ethnicity and gender were frequently identified and most clearly
described. A minority failed to score because they confused ‘sex’ with ‘gender’.

(c) Whilst there were some strong answers to this question with an awareness of the new right
perspective, many did not get much beyond: ‘the poor stay poor because they are happy to live on
benefits’. There was a general failure to grasp the notion that work might be neither profitable nor
affordable because benefits were taken away as employment was gained. The concept of
dependency was often well understood and the term ‘culture of poverty’ appeared in many better
answers.

(d) Better responses showed a good grasp of the concept of ‘status’ and the various social factors
which contribute to status. Some responses, however, did not get beyond ‘they lack experience or
employment’. Many answers lacked range and specific sociological knowledge.

(e) Better responses considered disengagement and ageism, few consider factors like ‘grey power’,
wealth and longevity. Answers often simplistically talked about the elderly being weak. Better
responses understood that other social characteristics may be more important than age.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers

SOCIOLOGY
Paper 2251/22
Paper 22

Key Messages

Centres are to be congratulated on the quality of work produced by candidates in the new assessment for
IGCSE/O Level Sociology. A lot of excellent responses were seen, demonstrating a real engagement with
the issues and a clear consideration of how and why societies are changing. Both topical and local examples
were well used to substantiate points made and these complimented the more traditional sociological
studies, theories and concepts well. No rubric errors were seen in the examination session which is
excellent.

Below are some specific messages that should help Centres to effectively prepare their candidates for the
examination:

● Prepare the candidates for the exam by practising lots of exam style questions in timed conditions
and emphasise how to make the point and develop it without going into too much unnecessary
descriptive detail;
● Ensure what is being written specifically addresses the issues raised in the question;
● Refer to sociological terminology, theory and concepts (using the specific vocabulary) as this will
raise the overall quality of the answer;
● Only use sociological sources / references when candidates are certain of the material they are
citing and where it is relevant to the question;
● Do not repeat questions in the answer or define terms in the question – get to the point and focus on
making material relevant to the set question;
● Ensure candidates substantiate their work with sociological evidence;
● Use the marks per question as guidance as to how much is to be written for a particular question;
● Encourage candidate’s to use their reading time to carefully read the questions, decide on the two
options they will answer and to ‘thought shower’ appropriate ideas for their answers;
● On part (e) questions, ensure that candidates have a balanced argument that considers both sides
of the debate. This needs to include a range of points for each side (look for a minimum of 3 for and
3 against) that are well developed and evidence based with a justified conclusion. Sociological
concepts are expected to be used here.

General Comments

In general there appeared to be the full range of quality of answers on the paper. The most popular
questions answered by candidates appeared to be on the family and education topics with a lesser number
answering on crime and very few at all on the media.

It was pleasing to see how many candidates were well prepared for the new 15 mark questions. There were
many essays of appropriate length covering a range of points and with a good understanding of different
sides of the issue in question. A surprising number of candidates, however, either gave no response or gave
one-sided answers on the 15 mark (e) questions. Further guidance could be given to encourage candidates
to develop points, to have balanced answers covering both ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments and for the ‘against’
side to think of alternatives rather than just a negation of the ‘for’ side. A considered conclusion should also
be included by candidates in the 15 mark question. Some candidates wrote long and unnecessary
introductions that were descriptive in nature which did not get marks; for example, on 1(e) there were
sometimes lengthy accounts of how society used to be less child centred before answering the question set.

Candidates should be encouraged to organise their longer answers into paragraphs and to develop each
idea. They should also be discouraged from trying to apply named sociologists, theories or concepts when
these are not relevant to the question.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
A small number of candidates wrongly labelled questions which could have misled Examiners in terms of
mark allocation. For example whilst answering Question 2e, the candidate wrongly labels it as 2d.

Comments on specific questions

Comment

Question 1

(a) Most candidates found the definition of beanpole families difficult. A common error was the
tendency of some candidates to refer to it as a form of nuclear family and a few, just as a variation
of the extended family. On the whole, accurate definitions were lacking.Centres need to ensure that
all aspects of the specification, including key concepts and terms are covered in the exam
preparation.

(b) This was the most successfully answered question in this section. A significant majority of
candidates were able to correctly identify and describe two types of families other than beanpole
families. A good range of types featured, though predominantly nuclear, extended and single
parent.

(c) There were many common sense answers, with a lack of key concepts apart from norms and
values. There were however, some excellent answers which used a wide range of points,
particularly those that addressed gender identities and roles and engaged with specific processes
such as imitation. Having successfully identified families as passing on norms and values to
babies, some candidates could not accurately unpack or develop the identified point.

(d) One of the better answered questions with many candidates able to discuss several points, such as
increasing independence of women, high expectations, changes in law, changes in attitude, loss of
stigma, secularisation. Some candidates engaged very conceptually with the question which was
excellent to see. Others had several points that were not always very sociological in focus. Weak
responses included list-like answers which focused on generic, common sense reasons such as
having an affair.

(e) A fair number of candidates did not understand child-centeredness with some confusing the term
for child centres. Some, whist making assertions that family life today is child-centred, proceeded to
give evidence to the contrary. Some candidates wasted time on historical analysis. For those who
understood the question, common evidence against child-centeredness was the dark side of family
life where children are abused, neglected and even involved in child labour. Reference to
sociological perspectives and concepts needed to be better integrated into responses.

Question 2

(a) This was generally done well. Some candidates found an accurate definition of hidden curriculum
difficult. Few wrongly made reference to learning at home and less commonly, at the workplace.

(b) Many clear and good answers seen, with some less obvious functions (such as instilling a sense of
patriotism) appearing. A significant minority misunderstood ‘functions’, discussing formal and
informal education instead and so did not get marks.

(c) Most candidates were able to explain fairly well the key differences between state schools and
private schools. A number of responses were somewhat ‘commonsensical’ but often managed to
develop more than two points. The most successful answers also incorporated key terms and
concepts.

(d) Most candidates showed some sociological knowledge and understanding of setting and
streaming. Labelling, self-fulfilling prophecy and anti-school subculture were common concepts
identified by candidates. A few excellent candidates engaged with the question conceptually
throughout. A surprising number, however, had a fairly limited grasp of setting and streaming and
how it linked to life chances often focusing instead on home factors which could not be credited.

(e) A fair number of candidates did not appear to understand meritocracy. Whist making assertions
that education is meritocratic, some proceeded to give evidence to the contrary. Some candidates,

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
however, engaged with the question conceptually and theoretically and moved on to make sound,
well argued judgements. Common responses across all mark bands included the idea of equal
opportunities. Opposing arguments often centred on factors outside School that could then have an
effect inside such as material deprivation, cultural deprivation and so on.

Question 3

(a) Generally well answered, although a number missed out on 2 marks by only giving a partial
definition.

(b) This was successfully answered on the whole. A good number of candidates were able to correctly
describe two agencies of social control, though a minority of candidates described the two types of
social control rather than agencies and hence lost valuable marks.

(c) Crime was well understood but there was some confusion here over deviance and how it differs
from crime. Some candidates were confused when making points about the relativity of both crime
and deviance, some arguing that crime is not relative, for example. Many answers focused on
examples rather than explanation of differences.

(d) There were some good answers seen relating to hacking and cyber crime. However, some
answers were about technology generally rather than new technology, for example discussing how
violence on TV could be imitated. Others were about new technology but old crimes (e.g. thieves
wanting to steal smart phones). Most candidates showed basic sociological knowledge and
understanding of why new technologies are leading to new crime being committed. Examples
abounded but sometimes clear technological reasons for new crimes were not evident. Relatively
few candidates engaged with the question conceptually and attained top marks here.

(e) A good number of candidates understood this question but their responses sometimes lacked
range. Hence relatively few engaged with the question conceptually and theoretically and moved
on to make reasoned judgements. Arguments for, tended to centre on the severity of punishments,
deterrence etc. Some candidates neglected the informal agents and thus lost the opportunity to
evaluate as effectively as they could have done.

Question 4

(a) Very few candidates who attempted this section could accurately define the term newsworthy.

(b) Again, many candidates seemed unable to properly identify and describe news values though
sensationalism. Celebrity culture did feature fairly prominently on the better responses.

(c) Many candidates were unable to explain media representations of the lifestyles of young people. A
large number of responses were very ‘commonsensical’ and poorly developed. The candidates that
did better tended to focus on the negatives, discussing ‘delinquency’ and ‘trouble-making’. A small
number of answers used terms such as folk devils and stereotype and were able to discuss
negative aspects of young people’s behaviour well.

(d) Candidates here often discussed child safety and the necessity to guard state secrets, though
many showed very little sociological knowledge and understanding of censorship of the media, so
conceptual knowledge was not strong here.

(e) The best candidates here framed their answers in terms of pluralism ‘v’ Marxism and had a real
debate. A significant number of responses, however, demonstrated only a limited sociological
understanding of the details of the pluralist view. Some brought in media effects theories which
were not always relevant to the case being made.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers

SOCIOLOGY
Paper 2251/23
Paper 23

Key Messages

Centres are to be congratulated on the quality of work produced by candidates in the new assessment for
IGCSE/O Level Sociology. A lot of excellent responses were seen, demonstrating a real engagement with
the issues and a clear consideration of how and why societies are changing. Both topical and local examples
were well used to substantiate points made and these complimented the more traditional sociological
studies, theories and concepts well. No rubric errors were seen in the examination session which is
excellent.

Below are some specific messages that should help Centres to effectively prepare their candidates for the
examination:

● Prepare the candidates for the exam by practising lots of exam style questions in timed conditions
and emphasise how to make the point and develop it without going into too much unnecessary
descriptive detail;
● Ensure what is being written specifically addresses the issues raised in the question;
● Refer to sociological terminology, theory and concepts (using the specific vocabulary) as this will
raise the overall quality of the answer;
● Only use sociological sources / references when candidates are certain of the material they are
citing and where it is relevant to the question;
● Do not repeat questions in the answer or define terms in the question – get to the point and focus on
making material relevant to the set question;
● Ensure candidates substantiate their work with sociological evidence;
● Use the marks per question as guidance as to how much is to be written for a particular question;
● Encourage candidate’s to use their reading time to carefully read the questions, decide on the two
options they will answer and to ‘thought shower’ appropriate ideas for their answers;
● On part (e) questions, ensure that candidates have a balanced argument that considers both sides
of the debate. This needs to include a range of points for each side (look for a minimum of 3 for and
3 against) that are well developed and evidence based with a justified conclusion. Sociological
concepts are expected to be used here.

General Comments

In general there appeared to be the full range of quality of answers on the paper. The most popular
questions answered by candidates appeared to be on the family and education topics with a lesser number
answering on crime and very few at all on the media.

It was pleasing to see how many candidates were well prepared for the new 15 mark questions. There were
many essays of appropriate length covering a range of points and with a good understanding of different
sides of the issue in question. A surprising number of candidates, however, either gave no response or gave
one-sided answers on the 15 mark (e) questions. Further guidance could be given to encourage candidates
to develop points, to have balanced answers covering both ‘for’ and ‘against’ arguments and for the ‘against’
side to think of alternatives rather than just a negation of the ‘for’ side. A considered conclusion should also
be included by candidates in the 15 mark question. Some candidates wrote long and unnecessary
introductions that were descriptive in nature, which did not get marks.

Candidates should be encouraged to organise their longer answers into paragraphs and to develop each
idea. They should also be discouraged from trying to apply named sociologists, theories or concepts when
these are not relevant to the question.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
A small number of candidates wrongly labelled questions which could have misled Examiners in terms of
mark allocation. For example whilst answering Question 2e, the candidate wrongly labels it as 2d.

Comments on specific questions

Question 1

Comment

(a) Most candidates were able to give good, clear and accurate answers here, often using well chosen
examples to support their definition.

(b) This was the most successfully answered question in this section. A significant majority of
candidates were able to correctly identify and describe two ways in which family life could be
negative. Candidates focused on parents, relationships, gender roles, children etc.

(c) There were many common sense answers seen for this question, with a lack of key concepts.
There were however, some excellent answers which used a wide range of points, particularly those
that considered the wide range of people and factors that divorce could affect. Some really good
points about the economic position of women, for example, were seen.

(d) This question prompted a variety of responses of very different quality. Some candidates did not
talk about the nuclear family being in decline but instead explained the rise of other family forms.
Others focused on Functionalist views of the nuclear family form being the best. The best answers
looked at family diversity, secularisation, rising divorce rates and the changing roles of women. It is
crucial that candidates directly answer the question set in order to maximise their chances of
success.

(e) This was a well answered question with candidates making good use of Feminist theory and
evidence in many cases, in order to develop and substantiate their points. Conceptual engagement
was good here. Some candidates, however, compared families today with those in the past and
these could only be credited at a low level. A few others did not look at both sides of the debate
and so could score no more than eight marks.

Question 2

(a) Answers to this question were very variable with most candidates scoring only one mark for a
partial definition. It is crucial that terms are accurately and fully defined in the part ‘a’ section.

(b) Some good answers were seen here that engaged well with sociological concepts and theories i.e.
hidden curriculum, Marxism, Functionalism and gender roles. A small number of candidates
misunderstood the word ‘socialisation’.

(c) This was a generally well answered question although a number of candidates made quite
repetitive points that thus prevented them from scoring at the top end of band 2. A lot of examples
of sanctions (both positive and negative) were seen but fewer candidates were then able to explain
how sanctions controlled candidates.

(d) A few candidates produced excellent answers to this question, engaging theoretically through
discussion of Functionalist theory. A key focus was on equal opportunities and ideas about
achieved status. However, several candidates either did not understand the term ‘meritocratic’ or
were confused about it. Others wrote instead about how education was not meritocratic and this
could not be credited.

(e) Candidates engaged well with the issues in this question with most being able to discuss both
home and School factors and their influence on educational achievement. Less successful was the
conceptual engagement with several ‘commonsensical’ answers being seen.

© 2015
 Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level
2251 Sociology November 2015
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
Question 3

(a) Generally well answered, although a number missed out on 2 marks by only giving a partial
definition.

(b) Answers varied in quality here. At the top end excellent examples were chosen in order to illustrate
how definitions of deviance can vary between societies. However, a number of candidates simply
defined the term deviance or gave examples of deviant behaviour without answering the specific
question set.

(c) This was a well answered question that saw candidates engaging with a range of relevant
sociological ideas and terms such as peer pressure, status frustration, sanctions, breadwinner role
and domestic violence.

(d) This was a generally well answered question with most candidates being able, on some level at
least, to question the accuracy of the official statistics. Points were typically made about issues
around defining crime, political manipulation of figures, non-reporting of crime and non-recording of
crime. The best answers also made reference to alternative measures of crime such as victim
surveys and used concepts such as validity and the dark figure of crime to substantiate their points.

(e) This question differentiated well, allowing candidates to answer at a variety of different levels.
Some were very ‘commonsensical’ in nature whereas others used ideas such as Marxism,
education, stereotyping and material deprivation to develop points. A number of candidates,
however, produced a one sided answer to this question, failing to consider other reasons for crimes
to be committed.

Question 4

(a) Most candidates who attempted this section could accurately define the term distortion but some
responses were quite confused.

(b) This was not a well answered question in general. Several candidates clearly did not understand
the term ‘citizen journalism’ and thus were unable to produce a relevant response.

(c) Some interesting and well explained answers were seen here. Inevitably some candidates relied on
simplistic answers with limited sociology but several used concepts such as under-representation,
invisibility, stereotyping etc. to inform their response. Well chosen examples were also seen here.

(d) Candidates were able to engage well with this question and could explain several reasons why
political parties made use of the media, often citing examples from elections and political coverage
in their answers. Media effects theories were often well used here.

(e) Candidates generally showed a good knowledge and understanding of the hypodermic syringe
model of media effects theories. However, this was often dealt with in a descriptive manner rather
than being directly linked to the issues raised in the question i.e. why some children commit acts of
violence. Similar issues arose in the ‘against’ arguments. The best answers, however, used
concepts, examples and theories well to produce informed and developed answers.

© 2015